Necklaces!

For many years now I have believed that no outfit is complete without a necklace. Even if I've slept in and am in a mad rush to get to Uni, I will take the time to de-tangle that one necklace that looks best with my dress but not the time to find my coat.

A few of my favourite.

My friend recently bought me a small gold spoon on a very long chain and I absolutely love it, it's small and delicate and well it's a spoon on a necklace! Before the spoon entered my live, my favourite necklace was a small harmonica which I played (I use the word 'played' loosely) a little to often and drove those around me crazy!

Jewellery has always been my way of personalising or adding a unique touch to a mundane outfit. As a student it's a great way of creating a unique outfit on a budget!

My doll necklace which I found in a fabulous vintage store in Dublin always attracts a lot of attention, I love dolls but apparently lots of people find them creepy! 

Although most of my necklaces are gifts, I like to find them in vintage stores and online at Etsy and Liberty Blue, the latter also have a store in Belfast.

Pre Fall 2012

I wouldn't say I have a favourite designer or that I ever really like a whole collection. Instead I find I like just a few outfits or key pieces by several different designers, sometimes I just like the mood of a collection. I've picked out some looks from a few Pre-Fall collections that particularly stood out to me.

Dsquared 

Donna Karan

Donna Karan

Helmut Lang

Helmut Lang

Rag and Bone

Vera Wang

Vera Wang

Images www.style.com

Christmas Carols!

A few days ago I painted the window of  a local shop, I had just returned home and I got a call asking if I would paint it the next day so I quickly came up with this idea. I used acrylics, painting the base colours first then scrapping away the paint to add the decorations and details. 

This is certainly not my best piece of work, it's a bit tacky and lacking in sensitivity but working backwards is difficult and if there is ever a time for a bit of tackiness it's Christmas!

Funny Face

Although Breakfast At Tiffany's is my favourite film I love the wardrobe in 'Funny Face'. In one scene, Hepburn having been reluctantly scouted as a model and whisked to off Paris, poses in some of Givenchy's beautiful creations in equally beautiful places in Paris! This film was nominated for Best Costume Design at the academy awards.

Givenchy and Hepburn had a collaboration and a friendship that lasted over 40 years.  Hepburn once saying; "I depend on Givenchy the same way American women depend on their psychiatrists."

Breakfast at Tiffany's

'Breakfast at Tiffany's' was the first Hepburn film I ever watched and within the first few moments I was hooked. As a fashion student I was obviously struck by the glamour of the film, Hepburn appearing in the opening scene in that famous LBD, dripping in diamonds and 'Moon River' playing softly in the background.

'Breakfast At Tiffany's' is my favorite film, as unoriginal and predictable as that may be I can't help but be drawn to and relate to Hepburn's character, Holly Golightly. Holly as a character is very human if not a little dramatized, she is a little lost with a plenty of opinions and quirks!I find the fact she doesn't name her cat, as she doesn't feel it belongs to her, particularly endearing. 

Holly's slightly ditsy personality is something I can most definitely relate to. Although I have yet to leave a pair of ballet slippers in my fridge, I did on one occasion leave my mobile phone in one!

Comme des Garcons A/W 2013

This semester I completed a research and design project focusing on the brand Comme des Garcons. Comme des Garcon's was established by Rei Kawakubo in 1969. Although Kawakubo is not a trained designer her innovative concepts and ideas have resulted in Comme des Garcons becoming one of the most distinctive and successful fashion labels.

This moodboard, which a group of us created during the research process, has inspired the use of fabric, colour and shape in the A/W collection I designed. Key themes explored in the trend are androgyny and absence.

 The Flat drawings above are of each garment in my final collection, creating ten outfits in total.

Illustrated above is my final collection, I wanted my illustrations to capture the mood of the collection. With absence and gender ambiguity being important themes I felt the faces of the models should be blank.

Playful Kids Mural!

Dress inspired by one from my own childhood.

This is mural which I designed and painted for a playschool over the summer. I loved this project as it allowed my imagine to run wild and I got a chance to escape back to childhood ( reading fairy tales and watching Disney films was research)! I found inspiration in the work of Gustav Klimt and illustrator Jane Ray. The latter's decorative and detailed illustrations have inspired my design work for many years and her influence is particularly evident here.